Xenophobia has enveloped South Africa for years, and now a rising tide of anti-immigration views in the country has boiled over. Amid rising protests, a slew of anti-immigration groups have called for all undocumented migrants to leave South Africa by the end of June. Though it’s unclear what happens after this date, many in the country are concerned.
‘All of them are now under threat’
South Africa is a melting pot of culture, with “Zimbabweans trained as doctors but driving Ubers, Ethiopians running bustling restaurants and Congolese selling colorful wax print fabrics,” said NPR. “All of them are now under threat” as a result of continued pressure from anti-immigration groups. For several months, “anti-immigrant protesters, many brandishing sticks, have been marching through the streets.” Many of them chant “Mabahambe,” a Zulu phrase translating to, “They must go.”
The protests have also “sparked attacks against foreigners” throughout South Africa, said The Associated Press. As the violence and attacks continue, several of the most notable anti-immigration groups have “set what they are calling a June 30 deadline for people in the country illegally to leave and the government to take action” against undocumented migrants. The largest of these anti-immigration groups, March for March, is led by a former radio host from the city of Durban.
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The June 30 deadline appears to be an arbitrary date, and most of the anti-immigration organizers have “not specified what will happen when it passes,” said NPR. Some of the groups have said they will go on a “national shutdown,” but what this would entail is unclear. As the deadline looms, some nations “have begun repatriating citizens while criticizing South Africa for what they call a climate of xenophobia,” said the AP.
‘South Africa has long attracted migrants’
The flash point of xenophobia is largely because of the country’s large number of immigrants. As “one of Africa’s richer countries, South Africa has long attracted migrants from elsewhere in Africa seeking a better life,” said the AP. But they still remain a small portion of the total country: South Africa’s most recent census figures from 2022 show there “were 2.4 million foreign nationals who had immigrated out of South Africa’s population of 62 million — less than 4% of the population.”
The protestors’ main complaint is that South Africa is “overrun with illegal immigrants who take jobs away from South Africans, use up scarce public services and are responsible for high crime rates,” said Reuters. However, there is data that disputes these claims. For one, every migrant job creates approximately two jobs for native South Africans, according to a 2018 World Bank report. Undocumented migrants are also “highly unlikely to try to use public hospitals or schools, for which they must register, for fear of being found out,” Anthony Kaziboni, a senior researcher at the University of Johannesburg’s Center for Social Development in Africa, told Reuters.
The tide of anti-immigration feelings is rising nonetheless, and experts say the “current protests are already causing socioeconomic damage,” said Deutsche Welle. Some fear further violence that could be coming. “They asked me, ‘When are you going to leave the country? We want to fix our country,” Kaunga Nyirenda, a Malawian gardener in Johannesburg, told CNN of the threats he received. “‘If you don’t leave now, you’re going to leave in a coffin because we don’t need anyone after 30th of June.’”
